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Saturday, September 8, 2012

THE JAZZ CRUSADERS

Vern Stevenson hosted the initial program that featured The Jazz Crusaders. He was replaced by Oscar Brown, Jr. who would continue to host the balance of the twenty six shows that were taped.

Steve Allen composed the theme music that was used to open and close each show, GIVE IRVING MY LOVE. There was no lyric and when jazz vocalist Mark Murphy was the featured artist he scatted behind the musicians.

Eight of the shows were released commercially on VHS and later on DVD disc. Footage has also appeared on YouTube and future posts to this blog will feature video clips of the artists featured when available.

Each show opened with a montage of Los Angeles jazz clubs as the theme music played by the featured jazz artists provided background accompaniment. The montage played again at the close of the show where GIVE IRVING MY LOVE would close out the show as the credits rolled.

The production scripts for each show do not credit a writer, but each script bears the the trademark hand of Jimmie Baker where each tune is broken down in detail by bars with notes for the cameramen regarding close ups, extreme close ups, high angle, low angle, pull back, etc.The Jazz Crusaders as noted by Vern Stevenson in his opening monologue were introduced to the jazz world by Dick Bock who signed the group to his Pacific Jazz label. They would release fifteen albums over the five years they were with the label. Video footage of their JAZZ SCENE USA show has not emerged on YouTube, but their appearance on Frank Evans' FRANKLY JAZZ in the fall of 1962 has been uploaded to YouTube by Evans' son, Lance. Here is one of the segments: